Jesus Christ: The Lamb, The Lord, The Lion!

Rev. 5:5, 6

John, the apostle, continues his grand description of his vision of heavenly glory and the worship of Christ around the throne of God. Particularly, the august scene of heaven zeroes in on the Father passing the sealed scroll to the Son that He may unleash these judgments on the rebellious earth. In the course of these extraordinary events, The Lamb is worshiped as the Redeemer and declared worthy to open the seven-sealed scroll of judgment. This grandiose scene reveals why Christ has authority to judge and why He is worthy of the worship of the heavenly host. May we also find our places among the throngs of heaven who worship God and Christ in the Spirit with absolute abandonment! Beloved, press on into this company because Christ is most deserving. Let us likewise, revere HIM in the most profound manner as the rightful sovereign Judge of the world. In Jesus’ Name I call upon all peoples every where to repent and believe the Gospel today before it is eternally too late. 

Now, three unique titles are given to our Lord Jesus to describe who He is: He is our coming King, the God-Man, and The Lamb. It is extremely crucial that we grasp with our entire being WHO Jesus Christ truly is! Through these titles, the Scripture reveal three absolutely vital roles the Lord Jesus fulfills and will fulfill in this world's history. These roles unveil His true identity! In short, He is our Sovereign and Sacrifice; as such He has complete authority to judge His creation. The same creation He sought to redeem. Note closely what John revealed.

       I.  The Lord Jesus Is Called the Lion of Judah (Rev. 5:5 a-b).  (The Coming King)

First, Christ is the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

            1.  Judah Was Designated as the Tribe of Kings.

Genesis 49:8-10,  Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. [9] Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? [10] The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

The reference here is to Gen 49:8-10, where Jacob prophetically gave the scepter to Judah and made it the tribe of the kings. (God never meant for Saul to establish a dynasty, because he came from the tribe of Benjamin. God used him to discipline Israel because the people asked for a king; then He gave them David from the tribe of Judah.)

            2.  Judah Was Symbolized by the Lion.

The image of "the lion" speaks of dignity, sovereignty, courage, and victory and it speaks of Christ's royalty in the family of David. Christ Jesus is the only living Jew who can prove His kingship from the genealogical records. "Son of David" was a title often used when He was ministering on earth (see Matt 1).

1 Kings 2:45,  And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord for ever.

Isaiah 9:7,  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

            3.  The Lion Anticipates the Second Coming.

This also anticipates his second coming as the Lion.  The Lion and the Lamb surely refer to Christ, with the Lamb referring to His first coming and His death and the Lion referring to His second coming and His sovereign judgment of the world. As the lion he is the judge who will punish his enemies.

       II.  The Lord Jesus Is Called the Root of David (Rev. 5:5).  (The God-Man)

But He is also the Root of David, which means He brought David into existence.

                                                                                                           

             1.  Christ’s Deity and Humanity.

                   A.  Christ is David’s Son—Rooted in David.

As far as His humanity is concerned, Jesus had His roots in David.

Isaiah 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

                   B.  Christ is David’s Sovereign— the Root of David.

But as far as His deity is concerned, Jesus is the Root of David. Thus the "Root of David" speaks of His deity, the One through whom David came.

Isaiah 11:10,  And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

             2.  David’s Lord and Son.

This speaks, of course, of our Lord's eternity! How the Messiah could both be David's Lord and David's son was a problem Jesus presented to the Pharisees, and they could not (or would not) answer Him (Matt 22:41-46).
The reality of Jesus as the God-Man connotes the fact that He made a tremendous sacrifice by becoming human in order to save lost humanity. He will not judge the world as a God who has no perception of human life and challenges. No, He was born in abject poverty, lived penniless, served like an absolute slave during His ministry, and died rejected, forsaken, and completely abandoned while baring the sins of the entire world. He even died the worse way a human being could die--by the slaughter of Crucifixion! Then after His burial He arose victorious over all our eternal enemies that we may believe on Him for the forgiveness of sins. If we reject His offer of salvation, then He has no other recourse but to respect those decisions and consign such people to the fate of all Christ-rejecters accordingly. Christ's judgment will fall upon the earth with a full understanding of the hearts of human beings. 

                                                                                                           

       III. The Lord Jesus Is Called the Lamb of Jehovah (Rev. 5:6).  (The Perfect Sacrifice)

When John turned to see, he saw not a lion, but a lamb!

                       

             1.  The Lamb in The Revelation (this book).

Jesus Christ is called "the Lamb" at least twenty-eight times in the Book of Revelation (the Greek word used means "a little pet lamb") and the emphasis is not hard to miss.

                 A.  God's wrath is "the wrath of the Lamb" (Rev 6:16).

                 B.  Cleansing is by "the blood of the Lamb" (Rev 7:14).

                 C.  The church is "the bride of the Lamb" (Rev 19:7; 21:9).

             2.  The Lamb in Revelation (the Scriptures).

The theme of "the Lamb" is an important one throughout Scripture, for it presents the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer.

                A.  The Passover Lamb.

In the Bible, the Exodus is the fundamental picture of redemption; the slain Lamb then is the Passover lamb. God required the Jews to bring the Passover lamb into their houses for 4 days, essentially making it a pet, before it was to be violently slain.

Exodus 12:3,  Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:

Exodus 12:6, And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.

                B.  The Slaughtered Lamb.

We also recall the slaughtered lamb of Is. 53:7, the Servant of the Lord, suffering in innocence for all humankind.  Isaiah 53:7, He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

                C.  The God Lamb.

The Old Testament question, "Where is the lamb?" (Gen 22:7) was answered by John the Baptist who cried, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). There is no wonder why the choir of heaven sang, "Worthy is the Lamb!" (Rev 5:12)

             3.  The Lamb in Representation. (He is Literal and Symbolic at the same time).

The description of the Lamb (Rev 5:6), if produced literally by an artist, would provide a grotesque picture; but when understood symbolically, it conveys rich spiritual truth.

                  A.  He Was Slain, but Standing.

“The Lamb” appeared to have been “slain” or sacrificed. This is the true Passover Lamb, God’s Son (Is. 53:7; Jer. 11:19; John 1:29) pointing back to his first coming. The wounds from Christ's slaughter are still clearly visible, but He is standing—He is alive.

Jeremiah 11:19,  But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.

                                                                                                           

Yes, the Lamb was standing in the center of the throne room, alive and victorious! Perhaps pointing to his death and resurrection which were the main aspects of his first coming and what qualifies Him to take the title deed of the earth  (Rev 5:9).

                  B.  He Has Seven Horns.  (Omnipotence)

Since seven is the number of perfection, these seven horns signify complete or perfect Power–Strength. 

                         1.  But the Lamb has seven horns, which signifies immense authority (1 Kings 22:11), strength–power (Ps. 75:4–7) and royal status (Zc. 1:18).

                         2.  In the animal kingdom horns are used to exert power and inflict wounds in combat.

                         3.  This represents the Messiah as the powerful leader (The Ram!) of the flock of God, who delivers the sheep, conquering the wild beasts who seek to destroy them.

                         4.  Unlike other defenseless lambs, this One has complete, sovereign power as a ruler.  This is how the symbol is used in other places. 

Daniel 7:24, And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.  

Rev. 13:1, And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

                  C.  He Has Seven Eyes.  (Omniscience)

Signifying perfect wisdom and all knowledge. In Zc. 4:10 it is God who has seven eyes, symbolizing omniscience; here they are identified with the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth, in harmony with the teaching of Jn. 16:7–11. The Messiah of OT promise thus stands revealed in terms of new covenant fulfillment.

                  D.  He Has Seven Spirits of God.   (Omnipresence)

The “seven eyes” defined as “the seven spirits of God” (Zech. 3:9; 4:10) symbolically represent the Holy Spirit (Rev. 1:4, 4:5) and perfect presence (seven Spirits in all the earth).  Jesus Christ was indwelt by the full measure of the Holy Spirit which suggests omnipresence.

John 3:34, For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.

Theologians refer to these qualities (omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence) as attributes of God. The Lamb is God the Son, Christ Jesus! These important observations point to Him as completely free of any error, misconception, or information in His judgment. He is absolutely capable of bringing His will to full realization--He will see it through! Jesus Christ is presently the patient Savior, but there will come a point in history when He will unleash a series of judgments and His unmitigated wrath on the world. There is nothing to stop Him.... The time to repent while believing the Gospel is now. Flee from the wrath to come by trusting Jesus Christ today.
I realize that some will reject these ideas and concepts of Jesus Christ's true identity. Some will refuse to bow down and worship Him as God. Others will reject the idea that He is the Judge of all the world. Such responses to these truths does not make them any less true. Unfortunately scores of people have an idea about God that is totally foreign to the biblical descriptions and revelation. This is pure idolatry! I appeal to such individuals to continue to read the Word of God and allow it to speak for itself. Examine carefully what I have presented here; test it to discern if it is true to the Bible. This exercise can only help you in the long run.

The Son of God, Jesus Christ will unleash these judgments on the rebellious populations of this world during the Tribulation Period. In addition, The Lamb will be worshiped as the Redeemer and declared worthy to open the seven-sealed scroll of judgment to initiate this phase of punishments. This grandiose scene will transpire revealing why Christ has authority to judge and why He is worthy of the worship of the heavenly host. Beloved, we must also find our places among the throngs of heaven who worship God and Christ in the Spirit with absolute abandonment! Dear saint of God, press on into this company because Christ is most deserving even today. Let us likewise, revere HIM in the most profound manner as the rightful Sovereign Judge of the world. In Jesus’ name I call upon men, women, boys, and girls around the globe to repent and believe the Gospel today in the light of these truths. Today is the accepted time of salvation; tomorrow may be too late.